Inner Demons
by unlucky.chat.noir
Summary: (A Victorian/Vampire AU) Adrien Agreste a newbie at the profession of Journalism wanted a story, NEEDED a story. Anything to excite him. After meeting a sweet girl named Marinette, Adrien's world is flipped upside down. Then one night, he transforms into a bloodthirsty vampire. Now he must face his inner demons before the consequences get too dangerous. WARNING: VIOLENCE/GORE
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Adrien Agreste sat at in his study, unsatisfied and bored. Nothing new was happening, nothing exciting. Nothing to write about. He worked for a newspaper company, starting out as a newbie, stories had been hard to find, but with the city of Paris being boring with nothing exciting happening, it was near impossible to find a good story. What would make people interested? What would make for a headline? He thought he should just make up some fake story but he was never a good liar, and he was sure if the company found out about his "white lie", he would be out of a job. He sighed, running his hands through his hair, ruffling up his blonde locks. He got out of his seat, the legs of the chair scraping against the floor, screeching. Adrien had heard it too many times to flinch or cringe anymore, it was normal for him now. Even the floor had scrape marks from the multiple times of frustration.

He stood by his window, pulling back the drapes slightly just to peek outside, the same old waggons and carriages passing by, again, nothing happening. Maybe he should just move. Germany seemed to be getting exciting lately, or maybe Italy. Hell, even England would be better. Paris France seemed to be running smoothly, with the Eiffel Tower being built and all, which he had already written about in previous newspapers.

"Why must my job be so frustrating?" Adrien asked himself, releasing the drapes and pacing the floor, massaging his temples. Thinking too hard gave him migraines, which seemed to be happening quite often now.

Suddenly a knock on the door caught his attention, he cleared his throat and adjusted his tie, buttoning up his shirt collar. After double checking everything, he turned the door handle and peeked to see who it was, relief washed over him at the sight of his good friend.

"Oh, Nino, this is a surprise." Says Adrien, trying to hide the exhaustion from his voice. He swings open the door so his friend could come in, the young writer noticing a pile of letters in his friend's hands. "And so are those..." Mutters the blonde, his attention on the letters.

"These, my friend, are all for you." Explains Nino, setting the letters down on Adrien's empty desk and glancing up at him.

"For me? From who?" Asks Adrien, picking one up, Nino walks past him and collapses on a nearby sofa that sat against the plain white wall. Only a single picture hung on the wall, a portrait of a woman in a black frame. It seemed to be cleaned at least every day, dust recently collecting on the glass.

Nino leaned back on the sofa, letting out an exhausted sigh and loosing his tie. So much for formality. "Quote unquote, 'Fans'." Says Nino, making the quotation sign with his hands. Adrien glanced over at him then back at the letter in his hands. Fans sent these? What fans? And for what purpose?

"I didn't read any but all I know is you seem to be getting very popular around town- sorry let me rephrase that, very popular with the ladies in town." Explains Nino, a small smile crossing his face. Adrien raised his eyebrows, not sure if he felt flattered or confused, perhaps both.

"I don't have time for these, I have a story I need to write," Adrien says, taking a deep breath. He felt like he hadn't slept in weeks. Nino groaned in exhaustion, obviously, he hasn't gotten much either.

"Be thankful someone even realized you were alive in this flat, how long has it even been since you've been outside?" His friend asks, eyeing down the young writer. Adrien inhaled, thinking of a reasonable number, but any of the honest answers were laughable.

"3 days maybe? 4 perhaps?" Answers Adrien, shrugging and tossing the fan-mail back onto his desk. Nino laughs, his point being proven.

"You need to get out more my friend, or else you're going to go mad." Says Nino, joking. Adrien smiles slightly and glances over at his window.

"I think I'm already there."

Nino stands up and fixes his tweed cap then dusts off his pants though they weren't dirty. He walked towards the door and turned back to Adrien.

"It was good to see you again my friend," He says, tipping his hat slightly. Adrien smiles and nods back, then Nino closes the door and the young blonde is alone again.

Adrien fell back down onto his chair and let out and exhausted sigh, running his hands through his hair once more. Maybe Nino was right... Maybe some time outside would be nice.

* * *

Adrien strolled down the mellow street, it wasn't that busy out today, possibly because of the fact that Paris was just never that busy. Oh, the problems of being a journalist. No stories to write about. After walking passed bakery's and shops that sold random items for unreasonable prices, the young male reached an old park that children used to play at, now it was just for trees to grow and people to look at. He found a bench that was placed near an old oak tree and took a seat, taking off his top hat for a moment. He took in a deep breath, it had been a while since he had been outside, he forgot how nice it was to stare at the blue sky and feel a cool breeze, or even watching small animals like squirrels or birds pass by. It was all... Fascinating.

He closed his eyes for a moment and listened to the leaves rustle in the trees as the breeze blew by, it was such a peaceful sound that he hadn't heard a young lady come up to him.

"Beautiful day out, isn't it _Monsieur_?" Asked a small and calming voice, Adrien snapped out of his thoughts and opened his eyes, greeted by a young woman wearing a light blue spring dress, the sleeves going past her wrists just a bit and the waist looking thinner than the rest of the body, obviously the work of a corset. Adrien had to admit she was a very beautiful woman, to say the least.

"Yes, indeed. It's nice to meet you, _Madame_...?" He replies, asking for her name with a simple sentence.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," She answers, Adrien smiles and stands up, holding his top hat in one hand.

"Pleasure to meet you _Madame_ Dupain, I'm Adrien Agreste." He introduces himself, taking note of how stunningly blue her eyes were. Maybe it had been a while since he was outside...

"Well _Monsieur_ Agreste, would you mind if I sat with you?" She says politely, Adrien smiles and nods.

"Yes of course, by all means." He replies, gesturing to the bench. She smiles at his kind action and takes a seat on the wooden bench, tucking in her dress to sit properly. Adrien sits down shortly after she is seated and glances over at her again.

A pretty woman with stunning blue eyes, hair a dark blue like the night sky and a smile that made him feel warm inside. He had seen that smile before, it was the smile that made him feel happy again like he was loved.

He snapped out of his daze and glanced away, feeling his cheeks heat up a bit. How awkward to stare at a total stranger, after _just_ meeting _._ Luckily she hadn't noticed his awkward staring and was too entranced by the trees to focus. Adrien cleared his throat and glanced down at the ground as her eyes gazed at him.

"So, what do you do for a living?" She asks, starting up a conversation. Adrien snaps his gaze to meet hers and smiles.

"I'm a journalist- or at least, trying to be one... I'm kinda better at just writing fake stories." He replies scratching the back of his head nervously. He realized he hadn't actually written a true story before, all of it was just made-up, like a fairy tale. Except for the news report on the Eiffel Tower being built and all. Marinette smiled warmly, she thought his nervousness was adorable.

"A journalist . . . So you write news stories?" She asks, he glances over at her and meets her gaze, her blue eyes staring into his green ones. They sparkled in curiosity.

"Yeah, something like that..." Replies Adrien, smiling slightly.

"I work as a baker- well, sorta. I work at my parents' bakery so it's not exactly the same." Explains Marinette, rolling her eyes to the side. She tugged on her dress cloth slightly.

"Can you make anything?" Asks Adrien, curiously. He had a thing for pastries, although he didn't eat them much. Especially when he used to live with his father...

"Of course, I can!" Marinette exclaims grinning proudly, Adrien smiles and chuckles quietly. She sure was confident. "I can make lots of pastries; Cookies, cakes, croissants. Basically, foods that start with 'C'." She laughs, Adrien joins and keeps his eyes focused on her, for some reason she made his heart pound and his cheeks burn up.

"I could go for a croissant right now." Says Adrien, thinking of his favourite pastry, it had been a long time since he had one, he almost couldn't even remember what they tasted like. Marinette suddenly laughs and Adrien looks over at her and she giggled adorably.

"Well, perhaps we should get one." She final says after calming down her giggles. Adrien smiles widely in hopes that he could actually spend more time with this woman.

"Hey, Marinette!" Shouts a female voice somewhere in the near distance. The two snap their heads toward the noise and spot a tanned skinned girl running towards them wearing a plaid skirt and a white blouse. And a pair of black glasses.

"Alya! How are you?" Asks Marinette as her friend got closer, not seeming to notice Adrien.

"Amazing! I just found the best story ever! This is everywhere on the news!" Explains Alya, holding a newspaper. Adrien suddenly got curious seeing the newspaper and hearing the words 'Story' and 'News' in one sentence.

"It's some sort of hero that was spotted last night, and guess what. It's a heroine!" Continues Alya, very excitedly. Adrien perks up, getting excited himself.

"Wait, a heroine? In Paris?" Asks Adrien, finally, Marinette's friend draws her attention to him sitting right next to them and stares at him for a moment. Then smiles.

"Yeah, and you are?" She asks politely, Adrien draws back, realising how awkward this was.

"This is _Monsieur_ Adrien Agreste, he's a new friend I made." Explains Marinette, Adrien's heart skipping hearing the words 'Friend'.

A friend...

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you, Adrien, I'm Alya Cesaire." Replies the friend, her attention on the young writer. Adrien smiles slightly, glancing down at the newspaper in the girl's hand. "Now that we got introductions out of the way, let's get down to business."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"The heroine is known by the name 'Ladybug' and she was spotted last night saving this woman from this crazy monster!" Explains Alya, waving the papers in their faces. Marinette seemed to just enjoy listening to her friend talk about something that excited her while Adrien was entranced by her words.

 _The superhero Ladybug, fighting off a monster?_

"Well, technically it was just a psychopath but she was described as a monster with fangs and claws!"

 _Scratch that monster part. Just a freak with issues.  
_

"Wait, you said _she_? So the fre- I mean _psychopath,_ was a woman?" Asks Adrien, wishing he brought his notepad. Marinette stares at him through the corner of her eye, wondering what was going inside that head of his.

Alya nods, "Yeah, after Ladybug left, Scotland Yard arrived and took the woman into custody. She's at the mental asylum now. Down by the countryside, or so I've heard." Adrien thinks for a moment, staring off into space. This could be the perfect opportunity, and maybe even an interview with the attacker herself. Marinette and Alya exchange glances before Alya crosses her arms and leans forward a bit, looking down at Adrien with intimidation.

"You're not planning on going... are you?" Asks Alya, snapping Adrien out of his thoughts. He stares up at Alya and smiles nervously, shaking his head quickly.

"No, no! Of course not," Says Adrien, trying to save himself from any more questions. Alya raises her chin, with a sly smirk.

"Good, cause going is suicide. Even I wouldn't dare to go, and I'm curious about this kind of stuff." Admits Alya, Marinette agreeing with a nod. Adrien forces a fake smile and nods in an attempt to not act suspiciously. He didn't care if this was suicide or not, he needed that story. And what could possibly go wrong? It's a locked down mental asylum, she couldn't harm him even if she tried.

Adrien stands and tips his hat at the two ladies before backing away, "I must be off now, it was a pleasure to meet you both." He says with a smile, his eyes land on Marinette and their gazes meet. A soft blush forming on Marinette's cheeks, causing her to avert her gaze slightly. "I hope to see you again, _Madame_ Dupain," He finishes, catching her attention again. She smiles with a nod.

"I do as well, _Monsieur_ Agreste." She replies, a soft smile on her perfect porcelain face. Adrien smiles one last time and walks off, his heart racing in his chest. He needed that story, no matter what it took.

* * *

Adrien looks into the mirror one last time, releasing a heavy breath that he didn't realise he was holding in. He had changed into a simple vest and tie with a white long sleeved undershirt and a pair of black dress pants, with his special pocket watch tucked safely where it should be and his even more prized ring still on his finger. He considered leaving them behind, afraid of losing them but decided against it and grabbed his coat as he opened his door. He jumped slightly when he saw Nino standing in front of him with his arm raised, just about to knock. He lowers his hand and adjusts his tweed cap.

"Where are going?" He asks, suspicious. "Just this morning I had to force you out and now you're sneaking out at dawn." He adds, looking Adrien up and down. Adrien shrugs, looking down at the floorboards.

"Something came up," He says as an excuse, no way could he tell Nino the truth, he wouldn't let Adrien even leave his own flat if he did. Nino stares at him, an eyebrow raised.

"Something I should know about?" He asks, crossing his arms. Adrien meets eye contact and regrets it instantly as guilt begins to boil up inside him. He swallows it down and forces a smile.

"No, everything's fine." _For now, that is._

Nino gives him an uncertain glance then sighs in defeat, "Whatever, just don't kill yourself." He says, half joking. Nino had the burning suspicion that Adrien had been depressed ever since his mother disappeared and he couldn't help but worry about his best friend and his mental health. It wasn't a good sign that Adrien had locked himself in a room for nearly a week without saying a word, now Nino didn't let him out of his sight. Adrien nods with a half smile, just wanting to leave already. As much as he loved his friend for caring about him, he wished Nino didn't ask so many questions.

"I won't, now can you let me by please?" Asks Adrien, his patience starting to wear thin. Nino sighs and moves to the side, Adrien smiles slightly and walks past him, fixing his coat collar as he walked. He glances back at his friend one more time before walking outside, looking around quickly then beginning his walk down the streets. He had thoughts racing through his head, first, a new hero appears and now some sort of monster getting locked up in a mental asylum, which only made him wonder even more.

 _If it's a monster, why would they put it in a mental asylum? Isn't that just for psychopaths? Although Alya did say that she was a psychopath but still, claws and fangs? I would call that a monster than just a crazy person. I guess I need to see it for myself to really know what's going on._

Once he reached the very edge of town that broke off into farmland, he searched for something that could take him to the asylum faster, he spotted a stables not far from where he was and he made his way over to the building, glancing around as the sun began to set, lights turning on in houses and streets. He noticed a small house near the stables, no doubt the owners and he wondered if he should just take one or actually ask for one.

 _Good evening, I was just wondering if I could borrow one of your horses to go to a mental asylum, don't worry I'll bring it back._

Adrien shakes his head, knowing his thoughts were ridiculous which only meant one thing, he needed to just take one and hope they wouldn't notice. But he was someone who stole, in fact, he never stole anything before. He stopped in his tracks, knowing this was wrong. He bites his lip slightly in thought and slowly makes his way to the stables, there were three beautiful horses inside, one a chestnut brown, another one white with grey spots all over its body and a long black mane, and the last one, purely black. He was torn between the grey and the black one, then he shook his head.

 _No, this is wrong, I can't just steal someone's horse._ He thought as he fought with himself as to what to do. Suddenly one of the doors to the stables opens and Adrien finds himself unable to move, but he was slightly relieved and slightly terrified when he saw Marinette coming out, holding a brush in her hand. Her gaze caught Adrien and she jumps slight, just as scared as he was he supposed.

" _Monsieur_ Agreste? What are you doing here?" She asks, confusion and suspicion crossing her face. Adrien gulps down a lump in his throat and glances down at the ground, racking his brain for an excuse.

"I was just... admiring the horses. I was passing by and saw the stables so I thought I would quickly look at them, sorry for intruding." He says, looking back up at her. She was wearing a different dress than before, now it was a blue dress with a brown corset around her waist and near her chest was a white fabric with ruffles. Adrien still found her stunning, even if she was wearing brown muddy boots with a dress and she had a small patch of dirt on her cheek, he still could see how pretty she was. He looks down again and clears his throat, pushing away his thoughts before his cheeks went red.

Marinette stares at him for a moment then back at the horses, she had just finished brushing the grey horse and was about to go back inside to get ready for bed, but now she wondered if there was something Adrien wasn't telling her and that only made her more suspicious. "It's okay, the horses are used to the attention." She says, smiling softly, putting the brush down on a stool.

Adrien glances up at her and the horses and smiles slightly, "Which one is your's?" He asks, trying to start a normal conversation. Marinette smiles and looks back at the grey horse, "This one, his name is Hudson." She says, putting a hand on the horse's muzzle. Hudson leans into her hand and flicks his tail, stomping one of his hooves into the dirt. Adrien hesitates before walking towards the stables and standing beside Marinette, looking up at the horse with interest.

"I'm heading to the next town and I was wondering if I could borrow one of your horses to get there, I understand if you don't want-"

"You can use my father's, the black one." She cuts him off, glancing over at him with a small smile. Adrien stares at her in slight disbelief, she didn't even ask why he was going or for how long, she just let him have it.

"W-wait, you're letting me borrow one that easily?" He asks, confused and slightly shocked. Marinette turns towards him, putting her hands on her hips and smiling slightly.

"Is there any reason why I _shouldn't?_ " She asks and Adrien opens his mouth to speak then shakes his head.

"No, I'm just surprised." He says, glancing at the horse then back at her, "Why are you letting me borrow the horse anyway?" He asks, rubbing the back of his neck. Marinette shrugs, then lets her hands fall to her sides.

"I'm not really sure myself... You just seem like a very trusting person, not to mention you were kind enough to give a lady a seat today." She says with a smile on her face, her blue eyes sparkling like the night sky. Adrien smiles back slightly and grabs her hand softly, bringing it up to his lips and planting a small kiss on her knuckles. Marinette's face goes a rosy pink but she doesn't pull her hand away, she just smiles.

"Thank you," He says and lets go of her hand, she intertwines her fingers together and looks down at the ground.

"Y-your welcome," She replies, hiding her rosy face. Adrien smiles slightly and walks over to the black horse, it's name on the door written in fancy cursive. **_Black Beauty._**

"Black Beauty? Is it a female?" He asks, looking back over at Marinette, she turns to look at him and nods with a small smile. Adrien glances back at the horse, then smiles. "I'm gonna call it Beauty," He says, going inside the stall with the horse and placing his hand on its flank and then grabbing onto the saddle and climbing up onto the horse. Beauty flicks her tail and lets out a small nicker, Adrien gives Marinette one last glance before gently using his heel to get the horse to move forward.

Marinette watches him leave and lets out a dreamy sigh once he was gone, then goes inside and closes the door behind her, smiling at the thought of him on her mind. She looks down at her hands and her cheeks go rosy again, all she could say was a quiet " _Wow._ "

She knew it was weird and strange but she felt like she was already growing feelings for someone she only met that day. She shakes her head and lets out another dreamy sigh, "That's ridiculous..." She says under her breath and goes up to her room.


End file.
